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Chris - many thanks to you for your comments and thoughts related to my
post. Unlike other responses (such as lawrence's "crap" one) yours has led
me to do some further thinking about whether an anti-MADE IN CHINA position
is a tenable one with regards to LEGO or any company for that matter.
While it might not have been obvious to those with negligible reading skills
my posting was intended not as some final proclamation on the subject but
rather was "put out there" as a topic for discussion and possible debate. I
admit to having a bias that has led me to adopt a softly-applied "policy" of
not buying items made in China if I can avoid it. At the same time I'm
willing to have others show me the error of my thinking and am open to
arguments that would convince me of my folly. When it comes to human and
personal development I am definitely an Evolutionist and therefore believe
that I am capable of changing and bettering my self, thoughts and life.
This is opposed to the Creationists (which in this community, like human
society in general, seem to be in the majority) who believe that every
thought that springs from their brow is good, perfect and beyond reproach.
As Chris has pointed out, once one starts trying to "make a stand" against
corporate wrongdoing it's hard to draw a line. I also have been a victim of
the delusion that LEGO is somehow better than the average corporation. Deep
down however I know that's not true - LEGO is in business to make money for
its owners and the bottom line of that goal means that inevitably the
company will be involved with questionable business partners and practices.
Which is one of the reasons why I prefer to play with my little plastic
brick-toys instead of thinking too hard about the Wrongs in the world around
me. Once you start to get caught up in trying to avoid contact with
everyone and everything that could be considered "bad" it seems that the
unavoidable outcome has to be changing one's name to Butterfly and going to
live in a tree somewhere. I certainly don't have any convictions that are
THAT strong.
Maybe as part of this discussion someone can point out an example of a
corporation whose business practices are beyond any reproach.
So I guess I'll retreat back into my typical American shell of
unconsciousness and just ignore those "Made in China" markings on my
favorite toys. As was pointed out by Ka-On Lee in another response to my
original post I have absolutely no basis for believing that items
manufactured in China are of inferior quality or that the people doing that
manufacturing are in any way being taken advantage of by their government.
So you see - I can admit that I was wrong.
Thanks again Chris for the response. Your litany of things that annoy you
about LEGO has given me some more to think about in terms of whether I
should have "feelings" about this corporation. It's interesting to know
that other people have thought about LEGO's practices beyond whining about
juniorization or complaining that they can't buy 1x3 bricks in a tartan pattern.
Greg
In lugnet.general, Christopher Tracey writes:
> Greg Perry wrote:
>
>
> > Before proceeding, let me say that I am not any kind of strident political
> > activist or anyone of any particular high morals or principles. However,
> > avoiding items that are "MADE IN CHINA" is the one "protest" act that I
> > actively pursue. This is mainly due to the proddings of my much-more-aware
> > wife who's interests are more humanitarian and political. While I certainly
> > see the problems inherent in a society that forces it's population to work
> > under virtual "slave labor" conditions, for me the botton line is that
> > products made in China are inevitably cheap, inferior crap.
> >
> > And to me, that's not what LEGO toys and products should be about.
>
> This news is pretty shocking (maybe I've been sleeping and never
> noticed).
>
> <snipped Greg's observations>
>
> > - Am I just being jingo-istic (and euro-centric) in thinking that if LEGO
> > products across the board begin to be made in China that there will be an
> > overall reduction in quality?
>
> Depends how you define quality.
>
> > - Does anyone think LEGO is the kind of company that would NOT move to China
> > if people raised a stink about it? Or do you think that they'll just be
> > more concerned with the bottom line - especially considering their earnings
> > reports from the last couple of years?
>
> Difficult to say. I've always had this idea of LEGO of being some sort
> of
> magical company that was somehow above the norm of the corporate world.
> I
> know that was a fantasy. I got back into LEGO as an adult as a 'stress
> reliever' of sorts, but as time goes on I find that the knowledge I gain
> about the LEGO business makes me want to leave the hobby.
>
> For instance, the following things currently *annoy* me about LEGO:
>
> -the news that the Enfield molding facility was closing down and moving
> to Europe
>
> -similar news that a South America facility was closing down (i might be
> misremembering this one
>
> -the movie/book/etc licenses LEGO appears to be using to replace
> Themes. Star Wars was cool as many people including myself had always
> dreamed and built Star Wars themed MOCs so many years ago. Harry Potter
> isn't that bad, but I wish it came directly from the book and not
> because of the movie. Movies seem to be a larger source of cross
> marketing branding than books, and IMO most products resulting from them
> are garbage (e.g Tomb Raider Taco Bell cups). Bob the Builder- never
> saw the show- don't have much of an opinion. Jurassic Park III- what is
> LEGO thinking? I think if LEGO believes that they need to be part of
> licensing they should use established, quality ones (e.g. Star Wars).
>
> -Bionicle- nuff said.
>
> -items with just the LEGO logo. Sure some collectables are fine like
> maybe a LEGO pencil or a t-shirt but why do we need a LEGO stereo
> (apparently only available in Japan), beach towels, book covers, rulers,
> salt&pepper shakers, and so on that aren't even compatable with the
> bricks? I don't know how LEGO decides what products to market with
> their logo and how they affect their brand image. This bothers me
> because, as some of you might know Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes are no
> longer being made and Converse has decided to market the All-Star brand
> on t-shirts and other products and that's it. It started with a shoe
> (same as a brick(1)) and eventually went on to shoes and other products
> like t-shirts and what-not (this is where LEGO is now) and now Chuck
> Taylor is just an image (will LEGO go this route?)
>
> -Tie-ins with questionable products- two examples:
> -I don't eat McDonalds. I know there are many families that don't want
> to eat there either but the company brings in the kids(+parents) with
> the happy meals. Is this bad- I don't know- this has been debated
> before. It was hard a year or two back not ordering >$75 worth of stuff
> from s@h when they were giving away free drive-thrus.
> -Shell. This company has done some pretty shady stuff over in Africa.
> I think LEGO dropped them in the 80's because of this, but now Shell
> cleaned up its image (on the surface) and they are back in bed together
> again. [is quaker oats owned by Phillip Morris?- just a thought]
>
> These are just a few examples. I know they have gone off track from the
> Made in China topic, but I think many of these factors are
> inter-related. Opinions?
>
> > Anyway, I've been wanting to vent my mild frustration and dismay at
> > discovering LEGO products were now being MADE IN CHINA. Wouldn't surprise
> > me to find out that no one else gives a brick but hey, that's the great
> > thing about the Internet - any crackpot can moan, grumble and whine about
> > any old thing they want. But where there's one crank there's usually at
> > least one more...
>
> I give a brick. For what it's worth.
>
> -chris
>
> FUT... I don't know- I'll leave it here for now until it reaches
> .debate.
>
> 1- i know LEGO started with wooden toys originally, but for the purposes
> of this converstation we can fast forward to the brick.
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